If not in clubs, then at least on the ice was the motto of last winter. The music halls were closed, you could only celebrate and dance together in private rooms, and then only on a small scale. But at least I went ice skating. As a result, long queues formed in front of the ice skating centers and visitors waited hours to be admitted. This was of course due to the restrictions imposed by the pandemic, but also because the sports facilities were only allowed to use 25 percent of their capacities. To make matters worse, two Munich ice rinks for recreational skaters failed.
The Munich Ice Magic was already set up and then had to remain closed shortly before the opening. The municipal Ice and Fun Center West in Pasing opened, but only for school classes and clubs. And even now the opening there will be postponed until further notice. Reason: Because the temperatures are still too warm, ice formation is currently not possible.
While it was the corona crisis in the past two years, the energy crisis is now causing problems for many Bavarian municipalities. Some do without ice rinks altogether or rely on plastic instead. In the other large ice sports centers in Munich, however, it is now possible to slide across the ice again, without any online reservation, 2-G rule, mask requirement and distance requirement. Wearing a mask indoors is only recommended. The season has already started at the Olympic grounds, at the Stachus and in the Eissportzentrum Ost, and the Prinzregentenstadion will open at the beginning of December. But the best thing is: The magic of ice is back, and the city center is enlivened by the reopened Christmas market and the popular artificial ice rink at Stachus. The winter can come.
Munich Ice Magic
Ice skaters do their laps at the colorfully illuminated Munich Ice Magic at the Stachus.
(Photo: Robert Haas)
Was that a bitter disappointment for skate fans and organizers. Everything was already set up, and then the Corona winter thwarted ice skating at the Stachus. Everything has been cancelled. But now Munich’s largest open-air ice arena is once again enticing for winter fun in the middle of the city; this year marked its 20th anniversary. Before Corona times, around 70,000 ventured into the 750 square meter art area, around 300,000 came in total and visited the delicacy hut and mulled wine Alm. Ice skating is particularly cheap in the morning, but doing laps on the atmospherically lit Stachus is particularly popular in the evening hours. If you just want to go on the ice quickly, you don’t have to pack your sports gear, ice skates and helmets can be hired for a fee. Times and prices are divided into blocks, and visitors generally pay less in the mornings. And there are a few attractive special offers to coincide with the anniversary: There are afternoons for seniors and children, on Mondays ice skaters in dirndl or lederhosen pay no admission to “Tracht on Ice”, on Tuesdays students get a long drink for free, and at the Almparty on Wednesday there’s something for everyone Skaters get a portion of Kaiserschmarrn for free. Sundays are then reserved for couples, the motto is “Two for One”, i.e. two walk, but only one pays. There is currently no upper limit for people for the events, and ice skating has so far been permitted without a test certificate and a mask. The 3G rule is only applied in closed rooms such as the Ice Magic Bar on the first floor.
Munich Ice Magic, until January 15, daily from 10.30 a.m. to 10 p.m., Christmas and New Year’s Eve until 4 p.m., Karlsplatz/Stachus, muenchnereiszauber.de
Olympic Ice Sports Center
Ice skating practice in the training hall in the Olympic Ice Sports Center in Munich’s Olympic Park.
(Photo: Stephan Rumpf)
The Olympic ice rink, also known as the Olympic ice stadium, was opened in 1967 and is therefore older than most of the other buildings in the Olympic Park. Here you really drive over masterful ice. Because this is where the EHC Red Bull Munich plays their home games in front of up to 6000 spectators. For this reason alone, the Olympic Park Ice Sports Center is a must for EHC fans. The season is almost all year round: except for May, June and July, skaters can skate here. Various special programs such as ice dancing or disco ice skating are also offered regularly. Ice skates can be hired on site. The ice sports center has a special service for visitors with disabilities: there are ice gliders for children and adult wheelchairs. With them you can either be pushed over the ice by an accompanying person or move yourself using special sticks. They can be reserved free of charge after prior registration.
Olympic Ice Sports Center, Tue.-Sun., from 10 a.m., Spiridon-Louis-Ring 21, telephone 089/3067-2141, exact opening hours below olympicpark.de
Ice and Fun Center East and West
The high-speed track will remain closed this year, but nothing stands in the way of having fun on the large area in the Ice and Fun Sports Center East.
(Photo: Stephan Rumpf)
The ice and fun sports center Munich East near the Michaelibad offers a particularly beautiful environment for ice skating. Due to its location right next to the Ostpark, you are surrounded by nature – and yet you are in the middle of the city. It has been open since November 8th, but with one significant restriction: the 400-metre high-speed track is not available to save energy. On the remaining indoor ice surface, however, visitors can glide over the ice without restrictions. Also in the countryside, at the sports facility of DJK Pasing, the Ice and Fun Center West opens its track for the Christmas holidays, whose Corona break also disappointed many last year. In this way, Christmas excesses can again be counteracted sportily on the ice in the west of Munich.
Ice and Fun Center East, Tue.-Sun., Tue./Thu., 9.30am-11.30am and 2pm-3.30pm, Fri. 2pm-4pm, Sat. 9.30am-11.30am, Sun. 1pm-3pm, Staudingerstr. 17, telephone 089/63019147, muenchen.de/freizeit/eislaufstadien; Ice and Fun Center West, probably Sat., Dec. 24-Sun., Jan. 8, Agnes-Bernauer-Str. 241, muenchen.de/freizeit/eislaufstadien
Prince Regent Stadium
Ice dancing has a long tradition in the Prinzregentenstadion. With free courses you can learn the round dance to the waltz or tango on Sundays – and also the special “Munich Dipferltanz”.
(Photo: Stephan Rumpf)
In the “Prinze” you can breathe in the air of historic ice sports – after all, skate fans do their laps on the oldest artificial ice rink in southern Germany. After the damaging fire in the pool area last summer, the sauna there is still closed, but skating on the 30 by 60 meter ice surface should be possible again. Due to the warm weather, however, the start of the season will probably be postponed to the beginning of December. According to Stadtwerke München, this means that energy consumption can be significantly reduced. Details on the exact opening hours and admission prices will be announced shortly before the start of the season on the Stadtwerke München website. But one thing is already certain: ice skates can be rented again on site, the kiosk and restaurant will provide food and drinks, and on Sundays there will again be the highlight in the Prinze, the traditional Munich ice dance: from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m., interested parties can take part in free ice dance lessons and put into practice what they had learned by 12 noon. Experienced ice dancers show you how to move forwards and backwards safely and to the beat of the waltz and tango. If you stay on the ball and come regularly, you’ll soon have mastered one or the other ice dance step or the “Münchner Dipferltanz”, a round dance with several people in the middle of the ice surface.
Prinzregentenstadion, from the beginning of December, Tue./Wed. 9.30 a.m.-4 p.m., Fri.-Sun. and public holidays 9.30 a.m. – 9.30 p.m., ice dance lessons Sun., 10 a.m. – 11 a.m., current information at swm.de/baeder, Prinzregentenstr. 80
In the middle of the Christmas market happenings
The ice skating rink on Luise-Kiesselbach-Platz is also being reopened after controversy over the justifiability of power-guzzling ice rinks in today’s world: “People can’t always just sit in their rooms with a room temperature of 19 degrees,” said one voice in the district committee debate, which prevailed . A benefit of the railway is the Christmas market on the square: the trip to Luise-Kiesselbach-Platz allows you to combine two Christmas highlights. Practical in the often overcrowded Christmas season. Also directly at the Christkindlmarkt, that of the Werksviertel, is a real ice rink at Knödelplatz, as well as a rink for curling. Everything your heart desires for Christmas in one place.
Ice skating rink at Luise-Kiesselbach-Platz, until Dec. 23, 1-9 p.m.; Ice rink at Knödelplatz, Fri, Dec 2 – Thu, Jan 8, 4 p.m. – 10 p.m., closed: Dec 24 – 26, Dec 31, Jan 1